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AFAIK almost every major mobile provider throttles video on unlimited plans. I'm also seeing restrictions and throttling when phones are tethered. More ISPs are

AFAIK almost every major mobile provider throttles video on unlimited plans. I'm also seeing restrictions and throttling when phones are tethered. More ISPs are experimenting with data caps now. We haven't seen the big scary "pay $10 for Netflix access" posters come true, but I think otherwise this has basically gone as predicted? Net neutrality was about whether ISPs could adjust speed/charges/caps on the basis of content type, and they do that right now. AT&T set up a "sponsored data" program in 2020 where companies paid to not have their apps count against data usage. They exempted their own property HBO Max, essentially for free since they're paying themselves. That was a big part of what the net neutrality debate was about: ISPs setting up schemes that favored established players by making them pay for customer access, and the fear that this would make it harder for indie upstarts to enter the market. In 2021 AT&T ended that program, but are still continuing to exempt HBO Max, which is an even worse situation because not only are they leveraging their power as a mobile provider to give their video service a leg up, there's not even a way to pay now to be treated equally on their network. It's not a wasteland, but... I'm not sure what to say. Are people here happy with the direction that ISPs are going right now? I'm not. We have less competition, more ISPs are vertically integrating content and buying content producers, the 5G rollout has been largely disappointing, and there doesn't seem to be any indication that any of this stuff is changing. I guess there haven't been a ton of sexy consequences that are obvious to every consumer, but companies are definitely experimenting with the stuff that would have been regulated under net neutrality. People warned about privileging content, and companies privilege content now.

bhawks 6y ago
The lack of real consequences really robs credibility from the next big internet cause (that might really need it). What has happened has played out on a really small scale and it's effect is mildly frustrating to meh. Attributing the lackluster 5G rollout to the repeal net neutrality seems really tenuous. I am not deeply familiar but it seems like their are other confounding factors such as the China/us relationship, the weird 5g paranoia, covid, and the overall sickly state of telcom that has existed since the payphone era. All in all I and many other citizens have bigger fish to fry. Jabbering my friends about net neutrality was a big waste of time and energy. I feel burned and embarrassed.
- rasz 6y ago
  This is because US Internet was always meh. Its hard to spot the difference between shit and even stinkier shit.
- vegetablepotpie 6y ago
  Not OP but I’d like to say that the real consequences from a big, multifaceted subject, be it government policy, the direction of a large institution, war, aren’t readily apparent until a decade or more later. I’ll use Google as an example. In 2010 they were generally seen as one of the “good” companies. They seemed more supportive of open source, such as developing android, they were going into new business niches where incumbent companies had once dominated, such as with google docs competing with Microsoft office. The promoted less tacky advertising, discouraging flashy banner ads in favor of plain text, And they had free email. Google certainly had its critics back then, but a lot of the criticisms was more abstract, such as its ad based business model, and relationship with China before they left. Now Google has many more critics and many reasons to dislike the company. The company was successful because of its focus on engineering and revenue from ads. What made it successful is leading to its downfall. You have small business owners claiming it commits anticompetitive behavior with ads and search; antitrust regulators are looking at the company. Google has terrible customer service, with paying customers, shutting down access for unknown reasons and provides no avenue for remedy. Android has become a walled garden because of its play store and no cellphone manufacturer is going to develop its own version of android because of fear that they will lose access to googles android. The company comes up with shiny new products only to cancel development and support two years later when it hasn’t been an explosive success. I remember in 2012 talking to group project partners at university about “bubbling” where google would tailor your search results based on tracking. I was laughed at by one of my partners because the consequences seemed trivial. That practice in conjunction with social media enabled the ability for people to live in their own media environment, separate from others. That has since had a profound impact on our politics. I suspect in 5 more years, once the telecoms, their lawyers and business development people fully realize what they can do with peoples growing dependence on the Internet, will we really see the consequences of no net neutrality.
- mindslight 6y ago
foepys 6y ago
> AT&T set up a "sponsored data" program in 2020 where companies paid to not have their apps count against data usage. They exempted their own property HBO Max, essentially for free since they're paying themselves. Apple is doing the same on the App Store when they are taking a cut of every payment inside an app.
- enkid 6y ago
  Is that related to net neutrality or just a similar practice?
- Wowfunhappy 6y ago
  I’m not a fan of that either, but at least it’s possible to switch phone OS’s without selling your house.

bhawks 6y ago

The lack of real consequences really robs credibility from the next big internet cause (that might really need it). What has happened has played out on a really small scale and it's effect is mildly frustrating to meh. Attributing the lackluster 5G rollout to the repeal net neutrality seems really tenuous. I am not deeply familiar but it seems like their are other confounding factors such as the China/us relationship, the weird 5g paranoia, covid, and the overall sickly state of telcom that has existed since the payphone era. All in all I and many other citizens have bigger fish to fry. Jabbering my friends about net neutrality was a big waste of time and energy. I feel burned and embarrassed.

rasz 6y ago
This is because US Internet was always meh. Its hard to spot the difference between shit and even stinkier shit.
vegetablepotpie 6y ago
Not OP but I’d like to say that the real consequences from a big, multifaceted subject, be it government policy, the direction of a large institution, war, aren’t readily apparent until a decade or more later. I’ll use Google as an example. In 2010 they were generally seen as one of the “good” companies. They seemed more supportive of open source, such as developing android, they were going into new business niches where incumbent companies had once dominated, such as with google docs competing with Microsoft office. The promoted less tacky advertising, discouraging flashy banner ads in favor of plain text, And they had free email. Google certainly had its critics back then, but a lot of the criticisms was more abstract, such as its ad based business model, and relationship with China before they left. Now Google has many more critics and many reasons to dislike the company. The company was successful because of its focus on engineering and revenue from ads. What made it successful is leading to its downfall. You have small business owners claiming it commits anticompetitive behavior with ads and search; antitrust regulators are looking at the company. Google has terrible customer service, with paying customers, shutting down access for unknown reasons and provides no avenue for remedy. Android has become a walled garden because of its play store and no cellphone manufacturer is going to develop its own version of android because of fear that they will lose access to googles android. The company comes up with shiny new products only to cancel development and support two years later when it hasn’t been an explosive success. I remember in 2012 talking to group project partners at university about “bubbling” where google would tailor your search results based on tracking. I was laughed at by one of my partners because the consequences seemed trivial. That practice in conjunction with social media enabled the ability for people to live in their own media environment, separate from others. That has since had a profound impact on our politics. I suspect in 5 more years, once the telecoms, their lawyers and business development people fully realize what they can do with peoples growing dependence on the Internet, will we really see the consequences of no net neutrality.
mindslight 6y ago

foepys 6y ago

> AT&T set up a "sponsored data" program in 2020 where companies paid to not have their apps count against data usage. They exempted their own property HBO Max, essentially for free since they're paying themselves. Apple is doing the same on the App Store when they are taking a cut of every payment inside an app.

enkid 6y ago
Is that related to net neutrality or just a similar practice?
Wowfunhappy 6y ago
I’m not a fan of that either, but at least it’s possible to switch phone OS’s without selling your house.